Biography was born Jacob Julius Garfinkle in New York City into a Jewish family. Son of David and Hannah Garfinkle, grew up in Brooklyn until he was sent to boarding school in the Bronx after the death of his mother when he was seven. Under the guidance of Angelo Patri was introduced in boxing and the world of interpretation. Unfortunately, a heart condition prevented him from continuing with their sporting activity. But it continued in the world of acting, after winning a scholarship to study at the Ouspenskaya Drama School and was chosen by Maria Ouspenskaya itself to make her Broadway debut in 1932. The play called Golden Boy was written by Clifford Odets but his performance was limited to a supporting role. So, Garfield decided to leave Broadway and try his luck in Hollywood. In 1938 he received critical acclaim and even an Oscar nomination as supporting actor for his role in Four Daughters.In the final decade of the 30, John would appear in titles like “Daughers Courageous” (1939) by Michael Curtiz and “Juarez”, a film directed by William Diterle and starring Paul Muni and Bette Davis in which the New York actor incarnated Porfirio D az. In World War II Garfield enlisted in the U.S. Army but was rejected for heart problems. Crushed by the rejection, Garfield focused its efforts on the rear. Garfield and Bette Davis opened the Hollywood Canteen, a club offering food and entertainment to soldiers on duty. He later traveled to Yugoslavia to encourage displaced U.S. forces there. During that time he also played games such as “Castle on the Hudson” (1940) by Anatole Litvak, The Sea Wolf ( “The Sea Wolf”) (1941) Michael Curtiz, Life is so ( “Tortilla Flat”) (1942 ) by Victor Fleming, Destination Tokyo ( “Destination Tokyo”) (1943) by Delmer Daves.After the war, Garfield took the top spots of the film world with movies like The Postman Always Rings Twice ( “The Postman Always Rings Twice”) (1946), Tay Garnett with Lana Turner, love will die ( “Humoresque “) (1946) (1946) with Joan Crawford, and Oscar-winning Gentleman’s Agreement (” Gentleman’s Agreement “) (1947) by Elia Kazan. In 1948 he was nominated a second time for the movie by Robert Rossen Body and soul ( “Body and Soul”) (1947). In 1946, when his contract expired with Warner Bros. Garfield decided to face his old studio and create an independent production company, becoming the first Hollywood actor to take this step. Involved in liberal politics, Garfield was questioned by the witch hunt in the late 40s and early 50s and supported the Committee of the First Amendment, in which many intellectuals expressed their opposition to the investigations of Senator McCarthy.When summoned by the House Un-American Activities Committee, where he was accused of providing confidential information to the Communists, Garfield resigned to name names of colleagues associated with communism on the grounds that, not really know any. Although his wife Roberta Seidman (married to actor since 1935) was a known activist of the Communist Party , there is no evidence that Garfield had had relationships with them. Even Garfield rejected this ideology and, just before his death, resigned to possible affiliations and reflecting on an article written by him and not published called “I Was a Sucker for a Left Hook” . Still, his resistance to the committee cost him dear to his reputation. It was included in the blacklist and was banned in the choice of future roles. With these difficulties, Garfield returned to Broadway to work interpreting the Golden Boy in 1952, this time in the lead role.His heart problems worsened and he died at the age of 39 years on 21 May 1952. Garfield is interred at Westchester HillsCemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, Westchester County, New York.